One Minute Marriage
by Fiery Goddess of Ice
Summary: The word marriage looks a lot like the word magic when you’re running for your life from a hoard of Death Eaters. So Harry could be forgiven for the mistake. Slash.
1. Prologue

**One Minute Marriage**

**Summary**: The word marriage written in fancy cursive writing looks a lot like the word magic when you're running for your life from a hoard of Death Eaters. So Harry could be forgiven for the mistake.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Harry Potter. Nor do I own the original idea for this, I kidnapped it from _Potato-kun and SakeHime_. Everything apart from the accidental marriage is mine though.

**

* * *

Prologue**

Harry Potter wasn't an ordinary teenager. Even though he wasn't ordinary, even by Wizarding standards, he still made mistakes.

Besides, the word marriage written in fancy cursive writing looks a lot like the word magic when you're running for your life from a hoard of Death Eaters out for your blood. So Harry could be forgiven for the mistake.

_One Minute Marriage_ wasn't a particularly popular site. Most women wanted the enormous wedding ceremonies that they had dreamed about since they were children, and since they only provided services in the Wizarding world, less than a quarter of the population were potential customers.

The one thing they had going for them was that they didn't discriminate against… unorthodox couples. Anyone who wandered in off the street could get married in a minute; no questions asked except for 'Do you take this man/woman to be your lawfully wedded husband/wife?'

So when Harry Potter ran into what he thought was _One Minute Magic_, he had no idea what was waiting for him…

* * *

**Author's Note**

I have written more chapters, they can be found on my Lj account, which can be accessed from my profile. If you just want the chapters, you just have to click on the 'One Minute Marriage' tag.

FGoI


	2. The First Minute

**One Minute Marriage**

**Summary**: The word marriage looks a lot like the word magic when you're running for your life from a hoard of Death Eaters. So Harry could be forgiven for the mistake.

**

* * *

The First Minute**: It's Like Rain… On Your Wedding Day

Harry ran down Diagon Alley as fast as his legs would carry him, a speed that was nothing to laugh at. It was one of those times when he was almost glad that his cousin Dudley had constantly tried to catch him and beat him up, as it had certainly made him quicker than any of the Death Eaters following him.

As he raced down the almost empty street, occasionally throwing a glance or a hex behind him, he realised that he would have to find a place to hide or he could be cornered with a single wrong turn. Looking around wildly, he spotted a figure bent over about fifty metres ahead of him.

As Harry got closer to the vaguely familiar figure he heard the sound of a small child screaming for her mummy and the equally loud squeals of an even younger child who was too young to understand what was happening. When he was almost upon them he realised that the dark figure was Blaise Zabini, a Slytherin in his own year at Hogwarts. The teenager was holding a crying child in his arms as he attempted to drag a girl of about two away from the slumped over body of a woman.

Harry swore to himself and turned around swiftly, hurling a curse at the ground in front of the Death Eaters chasing him that made the cobblestone ground explode upwards in an effort to defy gravity. As the dust and debris rained down around them, Harry quickly raced towards the Slytherin and scooped up the little girl in one swift movement.

"Come on!" Harry yelled to Zabini as he almost overbalanced from the sudden movement.

"Potter?"

"Can we do the whole Slytherin-Gryffindor thing _later_, preferably when we aren't going to be murdered?!"

Instead of replying, Zabini began running after him with the child in his arms. Harry could no longer move as quickly as he had been and promptly turned into one of the few buildings with a door still open, the Slytherin following shortly after.

Shifting the sobbing girl so that he only held her with one hand, Harry closed the double doors and spelled them shut. Hopefully none of the Death Eaters had seen them run into the building; it would buy them some time. Time in which the Aurors could finally arrive.

He looked back, but Zabini had already started walking towards the back of the small site where a man with thinning white hair sat wearing ordinary black robes. Harry quickly caught up with him and sat down on one of the two leftover seats that faced slightly towards each other.

"Oh my lord! You're Harry Potter!" the old man exclaimed in a croaky voice.

"Yes, I know," the teen growled back.

Ignoring Harry's tone, he turned to the Slytherin who was currently glaring at Harry. "And who might you be?"

"Blaise Zabini," the dark-skinned boy replied in a cultured voice.

Harry back at the little girl he was carrying. She had short brown hair tied up in pigtails and smooth, fair skin with dark blue eyes that were currently red and puffy from her crying.

"I assume she isn't your sister," Harry said as he looked back towards the other teenager.

"Don't be ridiculous, Potter! Of course she isn't," Zabini spat back at him.

"Are you two sure you don't want to work out your issues first then come back here later?" the old man asked.

"We can't go back out there!" Harry said as he pointed out the door, giving him a confused look.

"Very well."

Harry turned back towards the Slytherin. "She could have been adopted or something."

Zabini sneered at him. "My mother would never adopt a Mudblood."

The Gryffindor bristled. "Don't call her that."

"It's what she is."

"It's insulting!" The older man interjected the argument with a muttered question, probably something about an autograph since that was the first question people seemed to ask Harry as soon as they knew who he was. "Yeah, sure," Harry replied distractedly before continuing his argument. "How do you even know she's a Muggleborn?"

"Both her parents were Muggles with an eleven year old, I saw them before… She isn't a Pureblood, not even a Half-blood. So she is a Mudblood, or even worse, a muggle," he said with contempt dripping from his voice.

"Then why were you trying to save her?" Harry questioned.

Zabini opened his mouth, then closed it, staring at first the still weeping girl then at Harry. Neither heard the old man ask another question, this time directed at Blaise.

"I…" the boy trailed off as Harry stared at him, and lowered his eyes to glare at the floor. "She's only two or three; I couldn't just let her be killed. So, yeah…"

The old man happily clapped his hands together and signed a piece of parchment that flashed once and disappeared. Harry smiled slightly at Zabini's answer, it showed he wasn't completely brainwashed by all of the Pureblood nonsense.

"You may now kiss the bride!" said the white-haired man in glee.

"It's good to…" Harry trailed off as the old man's words sunk in. "What?"

Zabini also faced the man with a look of shock on his face.

The old man grinned. "Well, you don't have to. I know that lots of people are shy about that kind of thing. It's just a tradition, not really important to the ceremony."

"Wait, what ceremony?" the Slytherin asked.

"Well, I know that there isn't much ceremony here, but it's hard to fit everything into one minute. We have to use specially spelled parchment so that we can skip the signatures and just have the verbal contract," he explained.

"What?" Harry repeated, no longer sure he wanted to hear the answer.

"Congratulations! By the power vested in my by the Ministry of Magic, I now pronounce you man and husband!"

* * *

**Author's Note**

Well, I know you people are reading this, but some reviews might be nice... please? I'll give you cookies?

I have written more chapters, they can be found on my Lj account, which can be accessed from my profile. If you just want the chapters, you just have to click on the 'One Minute Marriage' tag.

FGoI


	3. The Second Minute

**One Minute Marriage**

**Summary:** The word marriage looks a lot like the word magic when you're running for your life from a hoard of Death Eaters. So Harry could be forgiven for the mistake.

**

* * *

The Second Minute**: A Free Ride… When You've Already Paid 

In the dead silence of the room, all that could be heard was the muffled calls of the Aurors proclaiming Diagon Alley to be safe once again.

Both teenagers leapt to their feet at the same instant.

"WHAT?!"

The priest looked confused. "Well, you did answer the questions. The verbal contract is a binding-"

"This is all your fault Potter!" Zabini yelled at him.

"What do you mean it's my fault?! I just saved your life! You're the one who agreed to the contract!"

The priest looked on in a confused manner as the two continued to argue over the bawling of the child Blaise held and the giggles of the little girl. "I did say that you should work out your issues before-"

"SHUT UP!" the two shouted. Then they both realised something and their eyes narrowed. "You!"

"How could you think that we were talking to you?!"

"We were in the middle of an argument for Merlin's sake!"

"Did we look like we wanted to get married?!"

"Couldn't you hear the loathing in our voices when we were talking to each other?!"

"How do we annul the contract?"

Harry and Blaise paused to allow the priest to answer that very important question and to catch their breath.

"Well, it's a legal, binding marriage. In the Muggle world it would be a simple matter of explaining things to the appropriate legal department and getting a divorce," the priest explained.

Harry sighed, trying to calm himself down. "And in the Wizarding world?"

"Um… In Wizarding society it's illegal to divorce unless… well, you don't want to do that."

"Do what?" Blaise asked, dreading the answer.

"One of you would have to be dead. Witches and Wizards have always settled their disputes within the family, they don't want things becoming public knowledge. And you know how much the Ministry hates change, they wanted to keep marriage traditional. It certainly stops people from hasty decisions," the old man explained cheerfully.

There was silence. "I'm going to kill him," Harry stated calmly.

Zabini sighed. "As much as I would like to assist you, to do it here and now would lead the authorities to suspect us. We'd have to plan for a couple of weeks at least on finding a sufficiently torturous way to murder him and hide the evidence. After all, revenge is a dish best served cold."

"I suppose," Harry reluctantly conceded.

Nothing like plotting murder to bring two people together.

By that point the priest was beginning to get slightly worried, however, as he believed the best in people he decided that they were simply joking. Even being an optimistic person, he wasn't completely stupid.

"I'm sorry, but we're closing for the evening. You'll need to inform Gringotts of your change in situation, and they can handle my bill. Goodbye!"

The two were quickly rushed out of the small building and the door was slammed shut behind them. Harry could hear the sound of several locks sliding into place on the other side of the door.

"So, what now?" the Slytherin asked with a sigh of resignation.

"I suppose we should go to Gringotts. They should be able to find the rest of this kid's family too," Harry replied, looking down at the giggling child he held in his arms.

The two swiftly wove through the crowds of people who had gathered in Diagon Alley to inspect the damage as Aurors and renovation teams cleaned up the area, and made their way through the large gilded entrance to Gringotts Bank.

Harry walked up to the first teller and bowed slightly as the goblin glared down at him.

'_The Moon grants silver_,' Harry said in flawless Gobbledegook.

The goblin's eyes widened and he bowed slightly in return. '_Just as worthy as the Sun's gold_.'

'_May I speak to Goldeye?_'

The goblin frowned. '_I believe he will be able to see you. Spinbrak!_' he called, and another goblin ran over to them, saluting the teller. '_Take him to Goldeye's office_.'

Harry bowed again. '_Thank you. May Odin grant you wealth_.'

'_And Thor guide you well_.'

With that, the guide set off with Harry and a confused Zabini just behind him.

"What was that?" the Slytherin hissed.

"I was getting us a meeting with my account manager. Goblins will respect you if you respect them and their customs," Harry grinned slightly. "Well, it also helps if you have a lot of money."

"Where did you learn Gobbledegook?" he questioned with a glare.

"You could say I have a gift for languages."

'_Didn't you just leave?_' came a harsh voice from behind them.

Harry turned swiftly and smiled. '_Hello to you too Goldeye_.'

The well-dressed goblin snorted and walked into his office, dismissing the guide with a wave of his gnarled hand. '_I think I scared your friend_.'

'_You sound so apologetic_,' the Gryffindor said as he and Zabini sat down opposite Goldeye.

'_So, what happened in the two hours since you were here?_' Goldeye questioned.

Harry winced. '_Heh, well_- Ow!"

Zabini, in an act of subtlety, kicked Harry in the leg to show just how much he appreciated being left out of the conversation. When they both looked at him, he put on an innocent face.

"Would you prefer if we spoke in English then?" Harry asked sarcastically with a glare.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he replied.

"Bloody Slytherin," Harry muttered.

"Gryffindor," Zabini replied with a sneer.

"Children!" Goldeye reprimanded, drawing their attention away from each other.

Harry grimaced whilst Blaise remained unabashed. "I apologise Goldeye."

"Now, you were explaining why you have come back…" the goblin prompted.

"Yes, well… you see… Um…"

"We accidentally got married," Zabini supplied bluntly.

Goldeye's mouth twitched. "I see. If you would excuse me for a minute?"

The goblin promptly got up and left the room. Harry and Blaise sat in silence until the harsh cackle of the account manager reached their ears. The Slytherin crossed his arms in annoyance as Goldeye walked back in, Harry staring at him in shock.

"Sorry about that, back to business."

"Er, yes. We were wondering what's going to happen now," the Gryffindor stated.

Goldeye shuffled some papers around his desk. "The first thing you should know is that there is a period of six months in which it is mandatory for a married couple to be living together. If you don't meet this requirement then the Ministry will be alerted and they will send a representative to assess the situation. I gather that you don't want the public to be alerted to the fact that you are married?"

The two nodded.

"Does it matter if we don't share a bedroom?" Harry asked hopefully.

"It's generally expected, so I would suggest figuring out what to do once you're back at Hogwarts. Now, I gather that you don't want your vaults joined as of yet?"

"No!" they yelled simultaneously.

Goldeye chuckled. "Well that's one less thing to worry about. I would also recommend obtaining wedding bands, I believe there are some in your family vault, Harry."

"Is that really necessary?" Zabini questioned.

"Not really, however the bands in the Potter family vault contain many charms that have been added over the centuries," Goldeye explained.

"That reminds me, is the house nearly finished?" Harry asked.

"Ah, I believe it will still be a month or so before it is liveable."

"I suppose we'll have to figure something out then. Oh, do you know if it's possible to locate this girl's family? Her mother was killed and we don't know about her father or sibling."

Blaise looked down at the child the Gryffindor was holding in surprise. He had forgotten that she was there, she was being so quiet. So was his own little sister for that matter.

Goldeye smiled, showing his pointed teeth. "I believe we can handle that. If you would like, I can call Griphook to take you down to your vault now to chose some bands."

"Thanks," Harry said as he stood.

As he shifted the girl into a standing position, she took Goldeye's hand and grinned up at Harry.

"Harry!" she said with a childish accent. "Bye bye!"

Harry smiled and waved as she walked out the door holding the goblin's hand. Just before they left, the girl turned to Goldeye and stated in a quite serious tone for a toddler; "Harry marry."

Harry scowled as the goblin's laughter echoed down the hallway.

* * *

**Author's Note**

Ok people, I _can_ see that people are reading it, it shows up on the statistics. But I really, really, really, really, _really_ like reviews so... it doesn't even have to be more than 'Nice story' or 'I hate it, you should be burned at the stake'. Well, preferably the first kind, I'd probably get depressed if I got a flame. _:Sigh:_ Oh well.

Thanks to all of my reviewers; **Oshiiyume**, **krachum**, **fifespice**, **JuMiKu**, and **TwinHighElf222**. I probably wouldn't have updated if it wasn't for you.

FGoI


	4. The Third Minute

**One Minute Marriage**

**Summary**: The word marriage looks a lot like the word magic when you're running for your life from a hoard of Death Eaters. So Harry could be forgiven for the mistake.

* * *

**The Third Minute**: Traffic Jam… When You're Already Late 

"Vault number 302," Griphook announced as he stepped out of the cart.

'_Thank you Griphook,_' Harry said as he gently took Blaise's little sister out of his shaking arms.

'_You are welcome Mr Potter_,' the goblin replied, taking the key from the Gryffindor.

"I take it you don't like the cart rides much," he said to the Slytherin.

"No, you think?" he replied sarcastically, ruining the effect by swallowing loudly and steadying himself on a marble column.

Harry simply rolled his eyes and gestured for the other teenager to follow him into the vault. Mounds of gold, silver and bronze coins surrounded them, but he ignored these and continued further into the vault.

Blaise, however, had halted the instant he saw the gold. "Holy… You're rich!" he exclaimed in surprise.

Harry looked at him weirdly. "Yeah, so?"

"Why do you wear those outdated clothes that are five times too big for you all the time then? We all just assumed…"

"Perhaps you shouldn't assume to know the lives of others."

The two walked in silence to the back of the vault. The entire wall of the back section was covered in books, jewellery, weapons and other assorted items from top to bottom. Harry lowered Blaise's little sister to the ground and moved to the middle section where a shelf stood covered in necklaces and various pieces of jewellery. He opened the top drawer and shut it just as quickly, working his way halfway down the chest before stopping and taking a step back.

Zabini moved forward and looked inside the drawer. There were twenty rings altogether, ten female and ten male wedding bands.

"So, are you going to pick?" Harry asked.

"I… don't know," he replied softly.

"I believe it would be best to let the rings choose," Griphook stated from behind them. "If the ring you choose takes a disliking to you… well, it wouldn't be pretty."

Harry shifted away from the drawer slightly. "What is it with the Wizarding world? Objects always seem to choose the person instead of the other way around."

The Slytherin sighed and shut his eyes, holding his hand over the rings. After a minute he picked up a ring, a snake twining around made of gold with glittering diamond eyes. Harry quickly did the same, picking up a ring that was a snake twining in the opposite direction with the same diamond eyes, but made of white gold.

"Huh, how convenient," Harry said suspiciously, going to place the ring on his finger.

"Wait!" Griphook shouted, making the Gryffindor halt. "You must have your husband place the ring on your finger or it will reject you."

"Oh," Harry said intelligently.

Blaise muttered to himself and quickly swapped rings with Harry before holding out his left hand. Blushing lightly, the Gryffindor placed the ring on the other's finger before he did the same. The bands heated slightly before the snakes came to life and wound themselves tightly around the two ring fingers.

The Slytherin sighed loudly. "I can't believe that we just have to accept this… Mum never had this problem with her husbands."

Harry looked at him quizzically. "Husbands? I thought there was no divorce in the Wizarding world."

"That's never been an issue. She's had seven husbands, they're all dead," Zabini replied indifferently.

The Gryffindor blinked. "Seven? And they all died young?"

Zabini smirked. "Well, they may have had a little help."

Harry's eyes widened. "Note to self; never write Zabini into my will or it will probably be the last thing I do…" he muttered.

"So are we done here? I need to get my sister home, and before you get any ideas I refuse to live anywhere other than my own house. So you're coming with me," Zabini stated.

"Since you asked so nicely…"

The Slytherin simply rolled his eyes as he picked up his little sister and walked towards the exit of the vault. Harry shook his head and followed the tall boy out the large door. Another stomach twisting cart ride and the two Hogwarts students were back in the enormous foyer.

"I suppose we'll need to stop at your house to get your belongings," Zabini sighed.

Harry frowned as they began walking out of the bank and into Diagon Alley. "Knight Bus?"

"Unless you truly expect me to take a _muggle_ means of transport," the Slytherin sneered.

"Joy," Harry said sarcastically at the thought of the drunken driving style Ernie the bus driver employed.

The two of them enjoyed a tense silence as they exited the Alley and the Leaky Cauldron, entering muggle London. Zabini promptly stuck his wand out and the purple double-decker bus immediately popped into existence in front of them. Stan Shunpike, as pimpled as ever, stepped out of the bus and recited the same speech he had given in Harry's third year before looking up and recognising the Boy-Who-Lived.

"Neville!" He exclaimed in recognition. "'Choo doin' 'ere?"

"I've been here since you dropped me off four years ago," Harry deadpanned.

The conductor's eyes widened. "'Choo been 'ere that long?!"

Harry sighed. "Look, we're all going to Magnolia Crescent in Surrey. No extras."

Stan looked curiously at Zabini and his little sister. "One Galleon and ten Sickles for the three of you, children are only five Sickles." The Gryffindor handed him the money and followed the man up to the front of the bus. "Oy, Ern! Look 'oo it is! It's Neville again!"

The old man turned around an adjusted his glasses slightly, squinting at Harry through the layers of glass. "Neville, eh? Minister not after you this time?"

"Depends on what you'd classify as being after me," the boy replied.

Ernie cackled and turned to face the road again. "I suppose you're onto something there. Where to?"

"Magnolia Crescent in Surrey. Back where we picked 'im up last time," Stan said.

Harry immediately sat down in the nearest seat, dragging Zabini down next to him, and clung desperately to a part of the bus that was attached. The Slytherin smirked at him.

"I take it you're not a fan of the Knight Bus then," he said.

"I'm not really a fan of any Wizarding mode of transport," Harry muttered bitterly. "Except brooms of course. I mean, the Knight Bus is some sort of terrifying roller coaster ride, I never seem to end up where I'm supposed to when I Floo somewhere, apparition was obviously created by a masochist, and portkeys…" Harry just shuddered.

Blaise just continued smirking at the Gryffindor for the rest of the trip, having to continuously prevent himself from laughing when Potter glared at him every few minutes. Two stops and ten minutes later, the Knight Bus came to a sudden halt in a very plain, symmetrical street, and the three of them quickly got off the bus. When the bus had disappeared, Blaise turned to the other boy and raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

"Neville?"

Potter sighed. "It's a long story."

Blaise just shook his head and followed the other teen down the street with his little sister. After a few minutes of walking, the Gryffindor turned down into another perfectly symmetrical street, with perfectly grown gardens and perfectly clean yards. It was all so unnaturally normal.

Potter made his way into the backyard of number four, and nudged three planks of the fence up to fit through into the next yard. Blaise sneered at the muggle fence, but held up the planks to let his sister through before ducking under them himself and following the Gryffindor into the house that was no doubt identical to those on the other two streets.

"What was that about?" Blaise asked as soon as the door closed behind him.

"Dumbledore has people watching the house, if I want to go anywhere I have to sneak out. Since Moody doesn't take shifts anymore, I figure they wont notice if I'm gone," Potter explained.

"How very Slytherin of you," Blaise said.

To his surprise, Potter grinned at him before walking up the stairs. The Slytherin glared around at the totally normal house and followed the other upstairs, making sure that his sister was keeping close behind him. Blaise found the other swiftly packing a few books into his school trunk in a tiny room with only a bed, desk and wardrobe furnishing it. A soft hoot drew his attention to the almost pure white snowy owl housed in a reasonable sized cage with the door open to allow it to fly around, and his sister immediately raced forwards to coo at the bird.

Potter turned from the bed and noticed the girl looking at his owl. "That's Hedwig, I got her for my eleventh birthday," he said with a grin.

"She's pretty!" she said.

The Gryffindor gave her a strange look as though suddenly realising something. "You know, I don't know your name yet."

The girl smiled up at him. "My name's Cherise, but you can call me Cherry. That's what my friends call me."

"Well then, it's very nice to meet you Cherry," the boy said with an answering smile. "I'm Harry."

"I know, you're Harry Potter. Blaise talks about you, you know," she said innocently.

Blaise glared at his little sister as she gave him an almost invisible smirk. At least they didn't have to worry about whether or not she was going to be in Slytherin.

"Is that so? Complaining about me to your family?" Potter asked with his own barely visible smirk.

"Actually, complaining about Draco complaining about you," Blaise said huffily. "You'd be surprised how much he whines."

"Actually, I don't think I would."

The Gryffindor shut the lid of his trunk and quickly pulled off his glasses, replacing them with a pair of oval glasses that had a thin wire frame. Blaise looked at him oddly as he placed the old glasses on the bedside table and put a feather-light charm on his trunk before grabbing his owl's cage and walking into the hallway.

"Not that I'm complaining about the loss of those monstrosities you call glasses, but why did you just leave them there?" the Slytherin asked.

"Someone has a tracking charm on them," Potter said. "I couldn't get rid of it without the person knowing, so I transferred it to the bedside table. Unfortunately I can't make the transfer permanent, so I had to get a new pair of glasses today."

"Are you certain that nothing else you own has tracking charms on them? I don't want you leading any Death Eaters to my house."

"No, I checked."

"Just so you know, I will be blaming you if our house is burned to the ground and we're all murdered in a gruesome fashion," Blaise told him seriously.

"I'll keep that in mind," Potter said, rolling his eyes. "I'll just go tell my Aunt that I'm leaving, so she'll have to cook."

Potter left his trunk and owl in the living room with the two Zabini's and walked into the kitchen. Blaise looked around the room at the hundreds of pictures of an overly rotund blond boy, a man that looked almost the same but with a bushy moustache, and a horse faced woman. The Slytherin curiously wondered at Potter's lack of appearance, but before he could think on it further, a loud crash came from the kitchen and Potter ran out looking over his shoulder.

"What-"

"Duck!" he yelled as he pulled Cherise down.

Blaise ducked just in time to see a china plate go whizzing over his head. He looked over at the kitchen door and was surprised to see the same horse faced woman that was in the pictures armed with plates and a few cups glaring angrily at Potter.

"And how dare you bring more of your kind into our house! Especially after last time!" the woman yelled, punctuating each sentence with another thrown piece of china.

The three of them hastily sped out of the back of the house, with more objects being thrown at them every second, and through the fence, the large trunk only just squeezing through. Blaise straightened himself up, brushing off small pieces of china that had exploded onto his robes before frowning at the Gryffindor.

"What in Merlin's name was that?"

* * *

**Author's Note**

Well, this did much better on the review front this time. _:grin:_ And I still haven't been burned at the stake! Hoorah!

**fragonknight01**: I cracked up at the bit about Malfoy, that would be very amusing to say the least. I'll definitely consider those suggestions _:evil plotting grin:  
_**kez**: Blaise was shopping with his sister at Diagon Alley when the Death Eaters attacked. Because she's only six he had to carry her to run fast enough to get away, but then he decided to be a Gryffindor and help the other little girl. Yes, Harry does own a house but I mentioned (sort of, I understand how people missed it) that it wasn't finished being built. Hope that clears it up!

Thanks go to **AxBxR**, **mumimeanjudy**, **IheartPineapple**, **Oshiiyume**, **TwinHighElf222**, **JuMiKu**, **Mara202**, **sparkley-tangerine**, **kagomite**, **Angel Baby1**, **fifespice**, **Sony Boy**, **Serser**, **Harry potter Goddess** (Still NO!!!), and **thafemaleshacklebolt**.

Remember, reviews feed muses and mine are starving!

FGoI


	5. The Fourth Minute

**One Minute Marriage**

**Summary**: The word marriage looks a lot like the word magic when you're running for your life from a hoard of Death Eaters. So Harry could be forgiven for the mistake.

**

* * *

****The Fourth Minute**: A Black Fly… In Your Chardonnay 

"That would be my Aunt," Harry stated blandly. "Welcome to the family."

Zabini raised an eyebrow. Harry swore that all of the Slytherins were given a crash course on smirking, sneering and raising an eyebrow when they were first admitted into the house. That and how to gel hair back properly.

"Is she always like that?" the Slytherin asked.

"Around me, yes. My relatives… well, they don't particularly like anything out of the ordinary," Harry said slowly, almost reluctantly.

"I see," Zabini said, narrowing his slanted eyes in thought.

"So I take it we're going to your house now?" the Gryffindor asked, distracting his husband from that line of thought. "Where do you live anyway?"

"Not that I expect you've heard of it, but we live on the outskirts of Graniaton. It's a village about half the size of Hogsmeade," Zabini said.

"We own the land!" Cerise said excitedly.

"You own it?" Harry asked.

"Most of the old pureblood families own a portion of land, and some have built small villages for magical families. Hogsmeade became the largest magical dwelling in Britain because it was built on the land owned by the founders for students who needed to live outside the castle. We've recently begun buying more of the surrounding land with the money that mother has… acquired from her husbands, so the village will be able to expand," Zabini explained as they walked back to Magnolia Crescent.

Another gut-wrenching ride on the Knight bus had the three of them walking down a road large enough for a single car towards a small village where grey stone houses lined the few streets. As they walked through the village, Harry took note of the few businesses they past; a small bakery from which wafted a delicious odour, a clothing store that sold both wizard and muggle styles, a bookstore, and a tavern that a large sign with an image of a winged horse proclaimed to be '_The Prancing Granian_'.

The length of the road made Harry extremely glad that he had learnt how to shrink his belongings, which were tucked safely into a single pocket. They met few people on the street, but those they past nodded in greeting to Zabini as they walked by, giving Harry a curious look. The Slytherin nodded back to each of them, obviously recognising them but not knowing any well enough for them to garner more than a split second of notice.

Soon, they exited the main part of the village and followed the road through a small section of forest that ended abruptly as they came across a large, well trimmed lawn where several mottled grey horses grazed. Looming over them was an enormous stone mansion that stood three floors tall, with large arches leading to a covered walkway around the side of the building. Harry looked around in awe as they moved towards the large doorway that served as the front entrance. The whole thing looked extremely grand with the sun setting behind it.

Suddenly, the large wooden doors slammed outwards, startling the horses, and an elegant woman in a set of dark purple robes that hugged close to her flawless figure stormed out of the house towards them. The woman had to be Zabini's mother, with the same high cheekbones and dark slanted eyes, and skin that was only a shade darker than the Slytherin's own. The beautiful woman's perfectly shaped eyebrows were drawn downwards in a frown, and her painted lips were pursed together tightly as she stalked towards them. She was the image of tightly controlled fury.

"Where have you been?" the woman demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.

Harry could swear he saw an image of Mrs Weasley superimposed over the top of her. Maybe it was just something that happened to women when they became mothers.

"Mum… I accidentally got married," Zabini said with a wince.

Her demeanour changed so suddenly that Harry was shocked that she didn't get whiplash. Her heavily jewelled arms came uncrossed instantly and she squealed excitedly, hugging her surprised son.

"Congratulations! Do you need me to kill her?"

Blaise suppressed a smirk as Potter's eyes widened comically. "Mother, I'd like you to meet my husband, Harry Potter."

His mother let go of him and spun around to face the other teenager, smiling brightly as though she had never offered to murder him. "Oh my! Welcome to the family, Harry. This does complicate the 'divorce' though…" she mused.

"Um, we already decided that we wouldn't kill each other due to… um, my… status as the Boy-Who-Lived," Potter interrupted, pulling a face as he said his title.

"That would really take all the excitement out of a marriage," she said with a sigh.

The Slytherin rolled his eyes at his mother. "Potter will be staying here for the rest of the holidays since we need to live in the same place for six months or there will be a Ministry inquiry held, and I refuse to live with his muggle relatives."

"So do I," Harry muttered.

"That's wonderful!" the woman exclaimed. "But surely you can refer to each other by first names. Speaking of which, I apologise, I don't seem to have introduced myself yet. I am Sharré Zabini," she said, bowing her head slightly.

"Nice to meet you," Harry replied.

"Wonderful!" Sharré said in a gleeful voice. "Now Blaise, be a dear and give your husband a tour of the manor."

Zabini sighed in exasperation. "Yes mother."

After calling a House Elf to take Hedwig to the stables, the Slytherin lead Harry inside the large house, separating from the two other Zabinis after entering the double doors. The two teens walked silently down a corridor, with Harry looking at the various portraits that lined the walls. Looking at the names on the portraits, a thought occurred to the Gryffindor.

"Your mother's last name is Zabini even though she's been married seven times?"

"She never changes her name when she marries, and we have her name since it is the more prominent side of the family," the Slytherin explained before a smirk appeared on his face. "And technically she's your mother too."

Harry blinked. "My mother?"

"Welcome to the family," Zabini said, repeating Harry's own words back to him.

The Gryffindor grinned. "I think I got the better deal there, Zabini."

Zabini scowled as he recalled the encounter with Petunia, before focusing on the other part of the sentence and sighing in resignation. "Blaise."

"Huh?" Harry asked eloquently.

"As much as I hate to say it, mum was right, Potter. If you're going to be living in a house where everyone's last name is the same then it will get a bit confusing having you calling me Zabini."

"Oh. In that case call me Harry."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (AN. o.O the first break in the entire fic…)

By the time Blaise had finished showing Harry around the main parts of the manor it had been dark for a few hours. Without warning, a House Elf that was dressed neatly in a simple grey tunic had popped into existence next to the Slytherin and informed them that dinner was being served in the dining room before promptly popping back out.

The two swiftly made their way down to the dining hall from the third floor, entering through the carved double doors that barred the entrance to most of the larger rooms in the mansion. From the brief glimpse of the room that Harry had on the impromptu tour, he figured that 'hall' was certainly an appropriate word to describe it. Though not as large as the Great Hall at Hogwarts by any stretch, the room was large enough to fit almost a hundred people and seemed much larger than it was when there were only the four of them.

They each took seats to one end of the comparatively small table in the middle of the room where four places had already been set. When it came to how Slytherin families acted when they weren't in public, Harry was at a loss. So he kept silent through the meal, preferring to watch how the Zabini family interacted with each other.

Blaise was also mostly silent, preferring to actually eat as opposed to talk, like Sharré and Cerise did. The little girl constantly tried to goad her brother into talking to her, and generally succeeded. Sharré, on the other hand, was obviously glad for the extra company Harry provided and attempted to draw him into a conversation just as a different House Elf popped into the room discreetly and magically cleared away the food before replacing it with tea and a platter of various pastries for dessert.

"So Harry, did you marry my Blaise for his good looks or for the influence within the Twilight Circle?" Sharré asked after a sip of tea, looking at him with a strange glint in her eyes.

Harry blinked in shock, a blush spreading over his face. "I… It was an accident!" he stammered.

Blaise smirked at him as his mother broke into a smile. "Potter, she was joking."

Harry's blush deepened, and he huffed as he bit into a biscuit to disguise his embarrassment before changing the subject. "What's the Twilight Circle?"

It was two older Zabini's turn to blink at him in shock, though he at least felt proud that the four year old girl didn't know either.

"Well, it's one of the six major political circles in the current Ministry of Magic. Belonging to one of these circles makes it much easier to get laws passed or reviewed, and usually the circles all vote the same way. Because of this, generally most of the members of the circle don't go to the Ministry unless it's a particularly important matter or one of interest to a particular family," Sharré explained.

"What are the other five?" he questioned curiously.

"Dawn, Sunrise, Noon, Dusk, Twilight, and Midnight. I am quite surprised that you don't know this, it's one of the most basic elements of our political system."

'_Wizards are so weird_,' Harry thought to himself. "I don't actually know much about politics except for what I've learnt off my account manager, and he's a little biased against the Wizarding system."

"I would be happy to teach you if you'd like," the woman said.

"Really?" the Gryffindor asked hopefully. He hated it when the Minister or Dumbledore caught him off guard with legal technicalities that made no sense, and any help he could get in that area would be a benefit.

"Of course. I can't have you running around the house for the rest of the holidays doing nothing," she replied in a serious tone.

Harry blinked at the woman, who held onto her serious look. Once again, he felt glad that he had chosen to go into Gryffindor. Slytherins were far too confusing, especially after such a very, _very_ long day.

Blaise sighed slightly and stood up. "Come on Po-Harry, I'll show you where my… _our_ room is."

The Slytherin swiftly walked towards the doors, leaving Harry to hastily stand and jog after him with only a half wave to Cerise. Blaise led him up to the third floor and into a room that he hadn't pointed out on their tour of the mansion. It was reasonably large, with a dark wooden floor that held a single rug in front of the lit fireplace. A bookshelf that was almost overflowing with the different tomes that filled it stood in a corner next to a large desk.

One thing that surprised Harry was that the predictable silver and green four-poster bed was at least large enough for three people, so there would be plenty of space between them. Blaise walked to a wardrobe that was hidden behind the bed and pulled out some clothes.

"I assume that I can trust you not to destroy anything while I'm getting changed," the Slytherin said pointedly before entering what Harry assumed was a bathroom through a second door.

The Gryffindor simply sighed in resignation and pulled out his matchbox-sized trunk and his wand. He was just about to change it back to its original size when Blaise's head appeared in the doorway again.

"By the way, the right hand side of the bed is mine," he stated.

"Why?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"It's furthest from the door."

"What does that have to do with it?"

Blaise raised an eyebrow at him. "When a psychotic murderer bursts in through the door they'll kill you first, giving me time to escape," he replied as though it was the most obvious thing in the world before disappearing into the bathroom once more.

Harry blinked. "Should I be offended at that?" he asked himself rhetorically.

Soon, Blaise reappeared from the bathroom wearing a pair of what appeared to be black silk pyjamas lined with silver. What made Harry stare was the slightly wavy, almost black hair that framed the Slytherin's face. It had to be the first time that he had ever seen any of the male Slytherins, in his own year at least, without gelled back hair.

Blaise smirked at him. "Like what you see, _Harry_?"

Harry felt his face grow hot, and knew that it would almost be an exact match for Ron's hair. "Yes… I mean, no! I mean… I'm just gonna go get changed now."

With that, he beat a hasty retreat into the ensuite and shut the door firmly behind him as he attempted to get control of the blush that had spread over his face.

The Gryffindor took his time showering and changing into his oversized pyjamas, knowing that the Slytherin would probably still be laughing at him. When he finally entered the room the other teenager was already in the bed, lying on his side, making it impossible for Harry to see whether or not he was already asleep. He cautiously padded over to the left hand side of the bed and stood beside it, pondering whether or not he should get in or just go sleep on the rug, which actually looked quite comfortable.

Blaise's voice startled him out of his reverie. "Are you going to stand there all night, or are you going to get in? Some of us would like to get some sleep."

* * *

**Author's Note**

Ok, just a brief explanation of a few things in this chapter.

Graniaton - pronounced gran-ya-tn  
Yes, I made it up, so I'm sorry if it is the name of any actual place. I based it on the Granians (the grey winged horses found in 'Fantastic Beasts'). The town is known for the Granians that the Zabini's breed, so I thought it was a logical name.

Also, I based the house on lots of pictures that I found online. If you really want I can put the pictures up somewhere or link to them or whatever.

Thanks go to my lovely reviewers! **Morot**, **TwinHighElf222** (thanks, hope you're still interested!), **IheartPineapple**, **A** **Brighter** **Dawn**, **JuMiKu**, **Sin** **of** **Pride**, **vella**, **DramaQueen1193**, **xKokurox**, **Dragonist**, **Uke Love**, **Utena-Puchiko-nyu**, **Firefly-chan**, and **Merrymow** (thanks for getting me to update! _:grin:_)

Sorry for how long it took me to update, I had half the chapter written a while ago but the next part just didn't want to be written. I think I may have too many descriptions. I have inspiration for the next chapter, so hopefully I'll get it done sooner than this one! Reviews are my life force!

FGoI


	6. The Fifth Minute

**One Minute Marriage**

**Summary:** The word marriage looks a lot like the word magic when you're running for your life from a hoard of Death Eaters. So Harry could be forgiven for the mistake.

**

* * *

The Fifth Minute**: Meeting the Man of Your Dreams… Then Meeting His Beautiful Wife

The first thought Harry had upon waking up was that of going back to sleep. He was happily curled up in a cocoon of warm blankets, on a bed that he was almost positive was too comfortable to be his own, and he didn't want to move anytime soon. Habit, however, was kind enough to remind him that his Aunt Petunia would be knocking on his door and demanding breakfast, so he forced his eyes to open and reached for his glasses on the bedside table.

Sliding the glasses onto his face, Harry's foggy mind blearily registered the silver ring on his finger, and he stared at it unintelligibly. Comprehension spread across his features, as his mind was suddenly cleared of sleep and he remembered what had happened the previous day.

"Zabini!" The teen exclaimed with shock as he sat up faster than he should have, making his head spin.

In an instant, the dark skinned boy was alert and aiming a wand between Harry's eyes. Still slightly dizzy, Harry did the only thing he could. The Gryffindor lurched away from the wand, and promptly fell off the bed in an undignified heap. Blaise blinked for a moment as his brain recalled the information from the previous day, before he crawled over to the other side of the four poster bed and peered down at the other teen.

Harry blinked up at him from the floor. "Ow."

Blaise smirked. "Very graceful, Potter. Do you always get up this way?"

"Not generally, no," he replied with a small glare. "Do you always keep your wand under your pillow?"

"Of course."

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"Look at it this way; would you rather suffer a spell mishap or die a horrible, painful death when someone decides to attack while you're in bed?" Blaise asked rhetorically.

"Good point," Harry conceded, slowly sitting up once more.

The Slytherin glanced behind him for a moment and sighed. "I suppose since you've already woken us up we can go get breakfast from the House Elves. They won't have served it at the table yet, since it's so damned early…" Blaise muttered with a glare at the one who had woken him.

Harry shrugged, ignoring the glare. "It's a habit. What is the time anyway?"

"Seven thirty," Blaise replied.

The Gryffindor pulled himself to his feet and looked over the bed to where he assumed there must have been a clock. To his surprise, instead of the usual mechanical clocks found in the Wizarding world there was a small frosted glass globe that sat upon the bedside table. A portion of the globe was clear, allowing smoke formed numbers to be seen through the glass. Harry walked around the bed to get a better look at what appeared to be the magic version of a digital clock. When he picked it up, the numbers began glowing, lighting up the entire globe with a soft red radiance.

"How do they do that?" he asked curiously.

"Magic," Blaise said with a smirk.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Very funny. I meant what kind of spells are used."

The Slytherin gave a slight shrug. "Probably a combination of modified tempus and lumos charms. There are runes underneath to contain the spells."

Harry turned the clock over to find small runes carved in a circle on the flat surface. "I've never seen these before."

"That much is obvious. It's because you only associate with muggleborns and muggle lovers. They tend to stick to muggle technology because it's familiar or interesting to them, however that technology tends to not work properly around magic," Blaise replied.

"That's being very general, it's only the electronic stuff that doesn't work properly isn't it? Because the two different types of energy don't combine right. That's what I thought," Harry said in a slightly hesitant tone.

"Isn't most modern Muggle technology electronic in some way?" Blaise asked pointedly.

The Gryffindor blinked in realisation. "I guess you're right," he admitted reluctantly.

"Of course I am," the other replied haughtily and Harry glared at him briefly before putting the clock back on the table. "I presume from your reaction to the clock that you didn't notice the lights last night?"

Harry looked around, noticing for the first time that the house wasn't lit by candles or torches like Hogwarts, but instead by similar frosted glass spheres. He walked up to the nearest light and tapped it, grinning as it changed to a pale blue colour instead of turning off like he had expected.

"They simulate torchlight, sunlight, moonlight and candlelight," Blaise explained as he pulled out a dark blue robe from his wardrobe. "They can be set to activate at certain times, as well as by simply touching them or using magic."

Harry examined the lights curiously, tracing the carved runes with his fingertips. "These are wicked. Why don't they use them at Hogwarts? Surely it's safer than candles and torches everywhere."

"The school's budget probably doesn't cover the cost. I don't think anyone even knows how many rooms the castle has. It's no doubt just easier to leave it as it is, plus Dumbledore probably thinks it's atmospheric," Blaise said with a slight sneer.

"Knowing him, he would," Harry agreed absentmindedly. "Damn it! Why in Merlin's name did I take divination instead of ancient runes?"

"Because you're a Gryffindor and didn't think things through," Blaise responded instantly.

Harry glared at the Slytherin, dropping his hand from the light. "That was a rhetorical question."

Blaise smirked at him, sliding his robe over his pyjamas before passing a dark green one to Harry that the seeker automatically caught.

"What's this for?"

"It's a robe, you wear it. It keeps you warm."

Harry threw the robe at Blaise's head in annoyance, though the dark skinned wizard plucked it out of the air before it reached him. "That just gets more and more annoying every time you do it."

"Well if you will ask stupid questions…" Blaise said innocently, offset by his smug look.

"You know exactly what I mean!"

"Fine, I refuse to let you walk around the house in those atrocious garments you claim to be pyjamas," he said with a sneer at Harry's clothing, holding out the garment once again for Harry to take. "And before you complain about it being green, you have that one because I look better in blue. I'm not trying to contaminate your pure Gryffindor spirit with my Slytherin colours."

Harry snorted at that, but took the robe and put it on over his nightwear. Satisfied that the Gryffindor was wearing something decent, Blaise nodded and stepped into the hallway, leading the way to the kitchens with the other following closely behind. Arriving at the kitchens, they opened the door to find a pair of House Elves working in the kitchen. When they noticed the two humans, one gave a tiny squeak and rushed over, giving a polite curtsey.

"Can I be helping you, sirs?" she asked in a high pitched voice.

"We would like our breakfast early please, Kassi," Blaise said before turning to walk out.

"Wait, we aren't gonna just eat here?" Harry asked in confusion.

"We have a perfectly good dining room, why would we eat here?" the other replied.

"I suppose… But isn't that a bit, I don't know, ostentatious for two people having breakfast?" he questioned, and Blaise raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"

"You know what ostentatious means?"

Harry crossed his arms with a frown that could almost be called a pout. "You know what, I'm having breakfast here. You just do whatever you want," he growled, sitting himself down at the small table at one end of the kitchen.

A moment later came the scraping sound of the opposite chair against the floor and Blaise sat down with a sigh. "I apologise for insulting you," he said in an attempt to keep the peace, though his eye twitched slightly. "I suppose it's not too terrible having breakfast here."

"Really?" Harry questioned, still frowning.

The Slytherin sighed again. "Yes."

"Excellent," Harry said with a smirk that transformed the atmosphere of gloom that previously surrounded him.

Blaise stared at him momentarily, blinking in disbelief. "You… That was a very Slytherin move," he said in appreciation once he got over his shock.

"Thank you," the Gryffindor said smugly.

The House Elves quickly served them their food at that point, which consisted of a full English breakfast. The pair ate in a comfortable silence that was interrupted only by the noises the two House Elves made as they cleaned and cooked. When he finished eating, Harry was reluctant to break the silence, but his curiosity won out.

"Blaise?" he said in an almost hesitant tone.

"Hmm?" the Slytherin looked up from his own breakfast.

"Do you have any books on runes in your library? Or Wizard inventions?"

Blaise smirked at him. "Made you curious did it?" Harry gave him a sheepish grin. "We have books on runes, but nothing very modern. They may have some at the store in town, otherwise you will probably have to go to one of the Wizarding Alleys."

Harry groaned. "More Alleys? Of course there are, it makes perfect sense. Why didn't I think of that?" Blaise opened his mouth but was cut off. "Rhetorical!"

The Slytherin simply grinned at him. "Shall we go?"

**

* * *

Author's Note**

Well this chapter was a long time in the making... I just didn't feel like writing anything at all, but a review kick started my brain again recently and thus this chapter lives (thanks to Willow Evenstar)! Sorry about that. In other news I'm not sure how long these chapter titles can last. They have nothing to do with the chapters really.

Sorry about any mistakes or anything, I actually wrote most of this in a day (yes, after making you wait a year I write a chapter in a day, I'm terrible).

Again, thanks to all my reviewers… I think I replied to all the comments except the anonymous ones…  
**BecBec**: … No, I don't T_T  
**Fred&George4eva**: No, I can't say that I have had that threat before… O.o  
**Robin Hood**: Thank you ^_^


End file.
